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Selfie: More Bridget Jones Than My Fair Lady

ABC debuted online today a preview of the pilot of its upcoming half-hour comedy Selfie. Were the leads of this limited but endearing sitcom anyone but the entirely charming, gifted pair of John Cho and Karen Gillan, it would fall flat. Yet, because of them, and a few hints of surprising writing nuance, it ultimately …

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is good, freaky fun

Of course, Guardians isn’t perfect, as it struggles to find a consistent tone. Sometimes it wants to be more adult, with bawdier language and sexual innuendo. For instance, Quill’s rumination that “If I had a black light, this place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting!” is pretty sophisticated for mainstream PG-13 fare. Other times, it feels as though the filmmakers are pandering to a much younger audience. You can almost visualize a ‘Dancing Groot’ doll gyrating in your kid’s Happy Meal.

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is solid entertainment, despite some wonky action and character work

For every good sequence, there’s one that’s muddled with bad camerawork and editing. Like a lot of blockbuster action, it’s barely legible; you have to work to keep up with it, and that work interferes with the enjoyment. The story also sags in the middle, as it seems to exist mainly to fill out the run-time. The protagonists take the MacGuffin to a dude they wish to sell it to, but the only real function of the section is to exposit what it is. It turns a big chunk of the plot into a shrug.

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Doctor Who Companion Profile: Amy Pond

Amelia Pond is a child when the TARDIS crash lands in her back yard. When the Doctor attempts to hop the TARDIS forward 5 minutes and overshoots by twelve years, Amy grows up with the Doctor as her childhood imaginary friend. She has somewhat of a difficult childhood, acting out and insisting that the Doctor is real to the point where she’s put into therapy. Amy is incredibly close with her best friend Mels and becomes good friends with Rory as well, and the two eventually start dating. Amy is working as a kissogram and still living in the same house when she next encounters the Doctor as a late teenager.

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‘Oculus’ Movie Review – Revitalizes supernatural horror with an essential dose of heart and smarts

Thanks to the likes of James Wan, paranormal horror is all the rage. From Paranormal Activity to Insidious and The Conjuring, audiences are irretrievably hooked to tales of nuclear families being bloodlessly menaced by only-fleetingly-visible entities of malicious intent. What’s remarkable about Mike Flanagan’s Oculus, which follows his no-budget wonder Absentia, is how it manages to wring genuine dread from a beyond-worn subgenre simply by paying close attention to the realities of its deeply troubled characters. Oculus functions equally well as a tragic psychodrama as it does a horror film.

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EIFF 2013: Glasgow rom-com ‘Not Another Happy Ending’ is vibrant but insubstantial

Set in a spruced-up Glasgow, Not Another Happy Ending is an offbeat romantic comedy starring Karen Gillan as Jane, a quirky young novelist struggling to overcome a nasty bout of writer’s block. With the editorial guidance of her passionate but single-minded publisher, Tom (Stanley Weber), her debut autobiographical novel became a huge bestseller, as well as reuniting her with her estranged father (Gary Lewis) and landing her a relationship with a renowned but narcissistic screenwriter, Willie (Henry Ian Cusick). Relying on Jane’s new book to rescue his ailing publishing company, Tom believes that her newfound happiness is preventing her from writing and sets out to make her life as miserable as he can.

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Doctor Who Ep. 7.05, “The Angels Take Manhattan”: Ponds bid adieu in affecting, though muddled, ep

Doctor Who, Series 7, Episode 5: “The Angels Take Manhattan” Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Nick Hurran Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: River’s a pulp heroine, Amy and Rory are an old married couple, and the Doctor’s, once again, alone The Weeping Angels are one of …

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Doctor Who Ep. 7.04, “The Power of Three”: Wonderful character beats save messy plot

Doctor Who, Series 7, Episode 4: “The Power of Three” Written by Chris Chibnall Directed by Douglas Mackinnon Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: Amy and Rory contemplate their lives while monitoring a slow invasion of small black cubes. Chris Chibnall continues his good work on Doctor Who, …

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Doctor Who Ep. 7.03, “A Town Called Mercy”: Poor script lets down strong visuals

Doctor Who, Series 7, Episode 3: “A Town Called Mercy” Written by Toby Whithouse Directed by Saul Metzstein Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are thrust into a moral quandary when they miss Mexico by 200 miles and end up in Mercy. For …

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Doctor Who Ep. 7.02, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”: Action-packed episode overflows with fun and adventure

Doctor Who, Series 7, Episode 2: “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” Written by Chris Chibnall Directed by Saul Metzstein Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: The Doctor recruits a gang, including a Big Game hunter, Amy, Rory, Rory’s dad Brian, and Queen Nefertiti, to investigate a mysterious spaceship set …

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BBC releases five webisodes ahead of the ‘Doctor Who’ season premiere

The British television series Doctor Who has been a staple of the science fiction landscape since the 60s, and after a brief hiatus, has successfully re-established itself under the guidance of ex-showrunner Russell T. Davies. In recent years, the show has seen a surge in popularity in North America, leading the BBC to ramp up their promotions …

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Doctor Who Christmas Special, “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” misses the mark with unearned sentamentalism

Doctor Who, 2011 Christmas Special, “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Farren Blackburn Aired Christmas at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: The Arwell family’s Christmas present from the Doctor goes predictably awry Since its return in 2005, Doctor Who has established a tradition …

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Doctor Who, Ep. 6.13: “The Wedding of River Song”

Doctor Who Review, Series 6, Episode 13: “The Wedding of River Song” Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Jeremy Webb Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, the Silence are back, we get a few answers, one particular question, and series six comes to a close. Series …

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Doctor Who, Ep. 6.11: “The God Complex”

Doctor Who Review, Series 6, Episode 11: “The God Complex” Written by Toby Whithouse Directed by Nick Hurran Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: the TARDIS crew check in to a creepy hotel and have trouble checking out and the Doctor makes a decision This week, Doctor Who …

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Doctor Who, Ep. 6.10: “The Girl Who Waited”

Doctor Who Review, Series 6, Episode 10: “The Girl Who Waited” Written by Tom MacRae Directed by Nick Hurran Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: Amy gets stuck in the whitest waiting room ever Last week, Doctor Who had limited success with a standalone episode. This week, they …

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Doctor Who, Ep. 6.08: ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’

Doctor Who Review, Series 6, Episode 8: “Let’s Kill Hitler” Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Richard Senior Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America This week, on Doctor Who: We met Mels, Melody, and River. Oh, and Hitler gets shoved in a closet. After a long wait, Doctor Who is back with the …

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BBC to air three ‘Doctor Who’ specials in August

As we wait with breathless anticipation for the second half of Series Six of Doctor Who, the BBC has just announced that it will air three Doctor Who specials in the run up to the show’s return Saturday August 27th . The specials will feature celebrity guests such as 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit, singer-songwriter Amanda …

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